February 11th

Numbers 8-10

God proves himself willing to take a substitute for what he originally required. Originally he claimed all first borns as his own. Now he will accept the Levites as a substitute for all first borns. This is reminiscent of how he accepted the death of Jesus for all of our sins.

9:15-23 – The cloud was a very clear sign of what the Lord wanted of the Israelites. We often would like something as obvious and tangible as a cloud telling us where and when to go.

Chapter 10: Even the way that they break camp and march as a group through the desert is given a specific order and ritual; it may seem like it’s a bit much, but these people are God’s representatives on earth—the way they do everything that they do is important